It was my pleasure when invited by Hrish Thota (who we had featured in our ‘In Conversation’ Zoom meeting as one of India’s Top Digital Influencers) to join his bloggers group for the launch of The Sunday Brunch @ H.Q, Tropical Café, InOrbit Mall, Whitefield, Bangalore.
My first restaurant outing after the onset of the pandemic this year sounded promising, especially the ride into Whitefield.
It was a 12.00 p.m to 4.00 p.m. affair with a subdued cake mixing ceremony in between keeping with the times.
The restaurant had a laid-back feel with a band playing live to add to the charm of a Sunday Brunch.
The colourful ‘Tropical Cocktails’ with fresh fruits were great ice-breakers as the band burst into retro CCR favourites like ‘Have you ever seen the rain’.
The starters spread, especially the fish and cutlets brought fresh to your table were a flavourful accompaniment to the cocktails.
As we bloggers gathered around and exchanged stories of food, venues and life in general, it suddenly rained on me that all the instagramming, blogging and facebooking (being done live) were the freshest and fastest way to reach out to the folks in Bangalore, considering the combined follower reach of all the bloggers. The fresh pani puris added to the speed of fingers typing away.
It was like the retro cowboy films were the ‘fastest gun’ was replaced by the fastest fingers!
The ‘Begaum Chicken Biriyani’ had my name on it as I scanned the buffet spread. It was tangy and spiced liked I expected and the juicy ‘Mutton Rogan Josh’ were the stars of the show.
In between we gathered for the subtle cake mixing ceremony with the bloggers going on overdrive to share their ‘Insta stories’. It was the first of their cake mixing events this year.
As I relished a ‘Baked Rum Trifle’ in keeping with the cheer, I imagined myself getting on a train headed to my hometown, and this time the coach I occupied was filled with bloggers from Bangalore.
It was my turn to show them the restaurants, live cooking, the sea, backwater houseboat journeys in my hometown, Kollam, Kerala. Nothing could excite me more.
I was still visualizing a train full of bloggers as it chugged into Kollam’s platform, just as the band played ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’.
The train was christened THE BLOG EXPRESS!
It’s a slow train coming.
Till our next stop, stay safe and cheerful.
He works for a retail organization in Bangalore and heads it online and branding division. He is a foodie by passion and therefore tries his hand at stuff in his home kitchen. While not dabbling in cooking during his days off he likes his music and of course trying out food. He prefers home cooked cuisine though restaurant fare guarantees a good outing with friends.
